Category Archives: Church on Mission

Tribal Confusion

Church on Mission, Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds

The word “Tribalism” has come to define our modern political situation here in the United States. We tend to define our identity, loyalty and now even our convictions, not by independent values, but by our tribal identity. If our party does it, it’s a principle. If the other party does it, its somewhere between hypocrisy and a crime. Our party is patriotic, their party is unAmerican. And on it goes.

I regularly witness Christians deeply embedded in this tribal warfare, expressing strong tribalism and shaping their values around their tribe. Truth itself is given a partisan filter and loyalty to our tribe becomes defining.

So the first question is, if we are Followers of Christ, have we confused who is in our tribe? Then the second question is, have we confused what our tribe represents. Finally, have we confused what it means to fight for our tribe? Let’s take these one at a time, and briefly overview how the Bible answers these questions.

Who is Our Tribe?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

(1 Peter 2:9)

While I am registered to vote in one political party (and in the past have been a state delegate for that party), it is not my tribe. My tribe is the people of God, consisting of all those who have accepted the gift of God’s salvation through the sacrifice of Christ. That means that my tribe stretches across both major political parties in the USA as well as across the borders of the USA to include many who live in other countries around the world. When we prioritize our local political tribe over the members of our true tribe, we forget a warning from Scripture.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

(2 Corinthians 6:14-16)

My tribe is the temple of the living God. Neither political party in America, NEITHER, can claim that mantle. Both are full of unbelievers and represent narrow political interests that are not based on the Kingdom. I might find more in common with one party over the other, but neither party represents the Kingdom. That’s my tribe, and again, my tribe is not based in the USA but in the Kingdom to come.

What Does Our Tribe Represent?

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

(2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

We could spend paragraphs and paragraphs quoting various passages from the Bible; the Great Commission, the commands to love our enemies and bless those who persecute us, the commands to appear as lights, to lead as servants, and on and on. We represent Christ, not a moral code. He came to save, not condemn, and Scripture says that He is holding back returning in judgement because the work of saving isn’t done yet (2 Peter 3:9). So our tribe is assigned the job of not passing judgement but declaring reconciliation, of being living representatives of Christ, not modern-day embodiments of the Pharisees.

How Does Our Tribe Fight?

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.

(1 Corinthians 10:31-33)

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

(1 Thessalonians 5:14-18)

Neither Nancy Pelosi, nor Donald Trump, nor George Soros, nor any other human figure is the target of our fight.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

(Ephesians 6:12)

In Conclusion, it is vital that if we want to help transform the culture of the USA or whatever land we live in, that we remember who is our tribe, what it means to be the People of God’s own possession, and what it means to live that reality out each day in our conversations, in our social media posts and memes, in the values that we show before the world. Without Christ, no one will be saved, no earthly country will ever be great, and no law will bring righteousness.

Let’s be careful out there.

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Trading Penneys for Apples

Church on Mission, Perils of Shepherds

JC Penney was a successful chain of stores, but it was time for a new CEO and as times were changing, the company knew it needed to make sure it stayed current so as to reach customers and accomplish its retail mission. They decided to tap a successful CEO who had a track record of success with Apple. Ron Johnson was thought to be behind the Apple store design which had done well. He was a follower of Steve Jobs and had taken some of his greatest lessons to heart.

He came to JC Penney and began to quickly make the changes he thought would help update the store for future success. His changes emulated what had worked for the Apple stores. One not-so-minor problem; JC Penney wasn’t Apple, it wasn’t selling technology and its target clients were not the same as Apple. If you watch the video embedded below, you will see the catastrophic decline that immediately followed these changes.

There is a cautionary tale for today’s church. Culture is changing and the church must constantly adapt its methods so that it can continue to deliver the Message and accomplish the Mission that Jesus gave it; to Make Disciples. Some churches choose to go the way of Blockbuster Video (a separate idea and future blog post) and just quietly go out of business by not figuring out newer ways to do the same thing. There are many churches that do know that there needs to be change and often they look to what has been successful for others and try to copy that success.

Churches need to change, but each church needs to change according to their own culture, their own community, and the unique circumstances that God has placed them in. Even in the early church, things that worked in Jerusalem didn’t necessarily work in Galatia. As some churches became primarily filled with Gentiles instead of Jews, there were cultural differences that had to be taken into account.

When we try to blindly emulate the style and methods of someone else’s success, we will run a great risk of destroying the good parts of what we have. Change must be done carefully and thoughtfully with a careful study of your own culture, your own gifts and weaknesses, and the unique situation that God has placed you in. This is why I’m a big fan of churches bringing in an Assessment Team who can listen to the church, help the church take stock of itself, and then help guide the church through the correct changes. Otherwise, we risk thinking that one size and one method will fit all and we will only hasten the decline we were trying to avoid.

If you are a pastor or other leader who longs to see the church grow in its Mission to make disciples, make sure you don’t trade your Penneys for Apples.

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A Failing Church

Church on Mission, Perils of Shepherds

There are people who believe that their spiritual gift is “Church Critic.” They have a fun ministry of pointing out to others all the areas that we need to “fix.” Pastors oftentimes really struggle with people with this particular gifting, not only because its generally pretty discouraging, but also because most pastors desperately want to fix each of these things and when a Critic is expressing their gift, the pastor often adds pressure to himself.

A few years ago I was approached by someone with the gift who opened the discussion with, “do you know about the problem with this church?” My response was, “Yes, and I’ll bet my list is longer than yours. It’s actually worse than you think!” The Critic didn’t quite know what to say. I had out-gifted them! Rather than defend and try to explain the fact that we were failing in some area, or feel defeated, I was just honest. Our church is very far from perfect and has many areas that need work.

At the heart of the issue is the feeling by some that our goal is to achieve as much perfection as possible. We should seek to do things well, and we should continually work on areas where we are weak, but the goal of the church is to proclaim the grace and mercy of God and His love expressed through the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross. As fallen human beings we continually demonstrate that we “fall short of the glory of God.” The fix is not to try to be perfect, but to again rest in and proclaim the grace and mercy of God.

When someone approaches me and tells me they are unhappy with an aspect of our church, I can easily find common cause with them. There are always areas that I am unhappy with as well. I ask them if they thought that the goal was to make us happy? My happiness is not a goal, nor do I make it a goal to try to please each person who attends. Instead, my goal is to proclaim, share, and show the love, mercy, and grace of Jesus, and sometimes my own and the churches own failures help communicate that.

So if you come to our church, you will observe a failing church with failing people. We have this treasure in clay pots. If we are who we’ve been called to be, our weakness and failings will provide a showcase of the power of God who saves sinners and is kind to evil and ungrateful people.

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

(2 Corinthians 12:9)
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Socialized Church

Church on Mission, Perils of Shepherds

You don’t the term “Church Social” much anymore. It is a term of our past. Now we have fellowship times or, in the case of Bean’s Corner, Koinonia which is just another word for fellowship. No matter what form getting together takes or what name we give it, coming together as a group is a social activity and like any gathering of people, there can be pressure to conform.

Social pressure to conform has perhaps gotten slightly magnified in our current culture. As our political climate has become more divided and heated, we expect people to align within our group. We tend to want to hang out with our “own kind” more and we seek out people with whom we feel most comfortable. This is human nature, but there is a dark side to it. We tend to call it peer pressure, and it can affect any group, from kids through all adult stages of life.

The most dangerous part of this kind of socialization is when it takes the place of the transformation that is supposed to characterize a person who has put their faith in Jesus. Too often our churches have actually created and wielded socialization as a tool to affect change in people’s lives. It starts with the youth group as we have rules of speech, dress, and conduct that must be observed in order to be considered a “good” kid and a member of good standing in the youth program. If you don’t conform, you will be excluded from your social group.

Too often churches have done the same with the adults. You are expected to look a certain way, sound a certain way, act a certain way, or you will not “fit in” and will be under pressure to conform. This can seem like a good and appropriate thing to keep people in line if it didn’t fly in the face of what the Bible says about the change that should take place. We are not to conform (an act of our own volition) to this world, but instead, be transformed (an act by an outside force) by the renewing of our minds. In other words, we are to be changed by what we learn, not change ourselves based on social pressure. This is a crucial difference. Jesus didn’t come to change our behavior, He came to change our hearts through His work, and a changed heart will result in changed behavior.

The goal is the heart, with the behavior being a result, not the primary goal. This is why the Bible refers to our outward behavior sometimes as fruit. Remembering that the behavior is a result of a heart issue, we should focus less on trying to change people’s behavior or enforcing behavioral conformity, but instead use the behavior as a window into the heart and focus on bringing hearts to Jesus. If we focus first and foremost on getting outward conformity, we will often end up creating people with a form of godliness but no power, and Pharisees that follow the rules well but are dead inside. We will also create a culture of concealment rather than a culture of confession.

Let us, especially if we are leaders in our churches, move away from trying to enforce outward conformity, but instead encourage people to meet, accept, and submit to Christ who will transform us.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

(Philippians 3:20-21)
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Keeping Up Appearances

Church on Mission, Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds
Hyacinth & Richard Bucket from “Keeping Up Appearances”

Having grown up watching British comedies with my parents, we always enjoyed the antics of Hyacinth Bucket (which she insisted was pronounced Bouquet) as she tried to aspire to a higher social class than she was really in. Each week her attempts to seem high brow would go terribly awry, often at the hands of her family who were quite common. Her efforts to put on a good act and her distress as the wheels came off made the show very funny and it was very popular.

Often times our approach to church can look very similar to this. Church is where we are supposed to bring our best, look our best, be our best. Such pressure is tough to legitimately maintain. It would be nice if we were truly always at our best, but life rarely allows us to consistently operate in “best” mode. We have setbacks, interpersonal struggles, sin that so easily entangles us, and just general weakness. Yet when its time for church we put on our Sunday best: nice clothes, nice smile, spiritual answers, and praise the Lord together. Like Hyacinth, this can result in some unintended comedic situations (that would be funny if they weren’t so tragic). We fight with spouse or kids before we leave, even on the way with a stressful car ride, but then emerge from the car as a well adjusted spiritually thankful family. The tension will wait for us in the car for the ride home. We also may act out worship and devotion when we really don’t feel particularly close to God and may be spiritually dry or struggling. For the hour or two of church, we are able to appear to be what we want to be or at least think we’re supposed to be.

For too long we’ve allowed and encouraged this kind of culture in our churches. The cost, the disapproval, the whispers, or even judgement of not being “ok” has convinced us that we need to make our best effort to “keep up appearances.” I call this a culture of concealment when what we need is a culture of confession.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.

(James 5:16)

We are called to have a culture of confession, not concealment. We need to realize that it is our natural state to struggle, to be weak, to be in the midst of battle against our flesh and worst impulses. If we would be honest with one another and no feel the need to keep up a good appearance, perhaps we would all grow more and also find more people in the world who were willing to find solutions with us in Christ as well. We need to worry less about if we all measure up and realize that all have sinned and fall short, and the good that we would do we do not do. We are all in daily need of the grace and mercy of God and we experience that grace and mercy the most when we give it to each other as we confess our sins and failings to each other.

If you are part of a church, can you help transform the culture into one that is less about keeping up appearances and more about letting Christ appear in the midst of our weakness? Can you resolve to quit the performance and pressure of trying to live up to something you haven’t achieved and instead be a community that cares for sinners. I’m thankful that we are working on being that kind of community at Bean’s Corner. This imperfect struggling man has found grace and mercy from Christ and His Body, the Church.

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On the 7th Day, God Went to Church

Church on Mission, Life in Christ, Perils of Shepherds

This will seem like an odd admission from a pastor, but we’ve never forced our kids to go to church. Likewise, we have never forced them to go visit their grandparents. We have just gone and they have come with us because we enjoy it and it is a good thing for us to do. Now my kids are getting big, the oldest having turned 16 this summer. Still, my kids are not forced to go to church. Quite the contrary. Now that we have two services, I have to leave early to get over to church before 8 am for the first service. My wife comes later to help with Children’s ministry and attend the second service. The kids could sleep in a bit, or just hang out at home, but No, they rush around to make sure they get to leave with me. They want to be “at church.”

Ok, now we need to unpack that. Culturally, we call what happens Sunday morning AND where it happens “Church.” Neither of these uses is strictly accurate by New Testament usage since the Church in the New Testament is the body of believers in any and all places. We ARE commanded to make sure we get together, but the Bible does not specify where and when. Sunday morning in the big white building is a choice we’ve made.

I love to gather on Sunday in the big white building, but not because I go to “God’s House” Some people like to quote, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.” ” (Psalms 122:1) . This is talking about the Temple which is not now pictured by our “Church” buildings but rather by Us. We are the Temple of God now. (1 Corinthians 3:16). I love to attend on Sunday morning because I love to gather with my fellow believers and be One Another together. My kids like to come for the same reason. This is also why I love going to 3 o’clock Study, Choir Practice, Men’s Breakfast, Young Married Men’s Study, and pretty much anything else. I love fellowshipping with the Body, the Group of Believers.

These days, I find that not everyone can always make Sunday morning. I miss them when they are not there and it makes me sad when I have to go a week or two without fellowshipping with some of the One Anothers. They are my brothers and sisters and I long to be with them often. I am excited when the ones that I don’t get to connect with on a Sunday morning choose a different time or even place to make sure we still connect as One Another in a group. That is what we are called to. Not to forsake fellowshipping and connecting as a Group, as the One Another.

I still feel that for now, Sunday morning is one (not the only) of the best times for everyone to try to come together to experience the One Another, to join our individual temples together into a time of doing God’s calling together, but no matter how you gather together any given week, just realize that it is a good thing. I am glad my kids have learned to want it, because no one can force anyone to love the one another, it is something you have to learn and desire as a part of God’s family.

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Smelly Loser

Church on Mission, Life in Christ

When it comes to our engagement with our American Culture these days, we often seem to be engaged in a fight for our rights and political power. We have been used to being the culturally dominant force and as that is fading away, we’ve gotten a bit desperate and desperate times call for desperate measures. As a result, the white evangelical movement has, as a whole, been willing to set aside some previous convictions in return for political access and protection. It has worked in some ways currently, but there have been some serious trade-offs.

Victorious Roman military leaders, after winning a campaign, would return home and take part in a Triumphal Procession where they would parade through the city with their soldiers and also the prisoners they had captured. As part of the procession, there would be people burning incense. The result was a display of the conquered prisoners and you would smell the aroma of the procession all around the city.

Paul grabs this imagery as He considered that he had been publicly conquered by Jesus. He wrote:

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing;

(2 Corinthians 2:14-15)

We read that “leads us in triumph” as American Christians and we think about being the victors, but that is not the image Paul is relaying. He is seeing Jesus as the victor and himself as the prisoner, being led through the streets, displayed as no longer being free in himself, but a slave to Jesus, and the aroma of the procession is noticeable to all, signifying Christ’s conquest. What did this display of being Christ’s captive look like? Paul explains it.

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

(1 Corinthians 4:9-13)

There is a lot for us to learn here about how we should see our role in our American culture. We should be on display as Christ’s captives, fully conquered by him, an aroma of salvation. I see too often people who name the name of Christ, including those who are regarded leaders of the church, who ridicule, insult, and mock political opponents and those that oppose us. How opposite of what Paul lived, blessing when reviled and trying to conciliate when being slandered. Imagine the attention we would get if we responded differently to the current political climate than everyone else who is busy trying to be a king instead of a slave of the King. Perhaps then we would have a different aroma to those who don’t know Christ. We need that sweet aroma because the current political discourse of this country stinks.

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One Eye Closed – Kingdom Issues and the American Christian

Church on Mission, Life in Christ

You may sleep with one eye open, but if you walk around with one eye closed, you will have issues with perspective.

As my Facebook newsfeed again erupts in the latest outrages (real or hyped) I have been reflecting on the larger picture that fuels our responses as people who believe the Bible is the inerrant Word of God and trust Jesus as the only source of salvation.

Many times, we have been looking around at “our” country with one eye closed I fear.

Remember the “good old days” of our Founding Fathers who had regular Bible studies together and founded this “Christian nation?”    We just can’t look at the fact that many of the founders believed in God as watchmaker, that Jefferson was a humanist who had taken a razor to his Bible to “fix” it.  Some of the Founders had put their faith in Christ, and most of them admired Biblical principles, and those principles were good for our country.    But if you were not white and male the picture was different.

But we fixed that right?  Civil war, emancipation, suffrage.  So then we have the “good old days” for sure, right?  But keep the eye closed that might see systemic segregation, child labor, exploitation.

So now these are the “better days”, right?  But still one eye must be closed.  We still have racism, just more hidden, we have abortion, we still have the poor, and our culture is further and further from the Good Book.

So the liberal side says the old days were bad and now we’re progressing.  The conservative side celebrates the old days and says these new days are bad.

I think both are right.  This is a sinful world, and it has been.  We live in a sinful country because we are a country full of sinners.

What we call “lawlessness” today is just the latest manifestation of what happens when man lives for himself and doesn’t make Christ the center of his life.  As a church we need to spend less time trying to fix politically what can only be fixed through Jesus.  We need to proclaim the good news.   Living in a democracy (or democratic republic, or however you want to put it) our well being as a country depends on reaching as many people as possible with the Good News of Christ’s love, life, death, and resurrection for our forgiveness and redemption.

We, as followers of Christ, need to remember that the old days were sinful too, just in different ways.  Our society has always abided evil, because man in his heart is evil.
Don’t look back at the days of slavery or racism and say that those were better because abortion wasn’t legal.
Don’t look at today with its abortion and anti-immigrant hatred and say its better because we’ve become more tolerant and enlightened.

Our hope is not in princes, presidents, laws, or morality.  It is in the risen Christ who transforms us out of our selfishness and wicked hearts.  Our whole world is in trouble, and always has been.  That’s why Jesus came.  That’s why He has placed us here.  To be lights in the midst of this crooked and perverse generation.

Footnote: Because some will try to twist this, let me say that I am not arguing against Christians voting, or advocating for truth in politics.  I’m not against standing up against unjust laws.  But if we place that as our primary strategy, we are missing the heart of Christ and the means to truly change our world.  Christ’s redemption.

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Driving Miss Message

Church on Mission, Perils of Shepherds

Imagine how you would describe the job of a race car driver.  Would you say “Drive Fast” or perhaps “Drive faster than everyone else.”  Simple, to the point, accurate.  Also a bit incomplete.

Imagine our new hire following his job description on I-95.  He would be a menace to all around him and not accomplishing what he was supposed to.  Yet he did drive fast; faster than everyone else.

The problem was that driving fast is not the point of a race car driver.  The point is to win the race.  Driving fast is a method, not a goal.  The goal is to win on the track.  Driving fast is just a description of how to best fulfill that mission.

Without a clear view of that mission, the instruction to Drive Fast could result in failure.

Now consider this key verse for pastors.

 “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. ”
(2 Timothy 4:2)

This is an important instruction from Paul to Timothy.  Paul even warns a few verses later that the day will come when many won’t want sound doctrine, preferring to have their ears tickled.

So how does this relate to my race car driver?

The job of a pastor according to Scripture is to equip the saints for service.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
(Ephesians 4:11-12)

This is the only time in the New Testament where the word Pastor is used.  The job here is clear, to equip the saints for the work of service.

I fear that sometimes pastors are driving fast, but they are not trying to win a race, they are merely barrelling down I-95, scattering people left and right.  They are preaching the Word.  They are ready in season & out of season.  They are rebuking and exhorting their hearts out.  They go home feeling good that they “drove really fast today.”

But did they win anything?   Sometimes our hearers are deeply educated but lightly equipped.  They will win at Bible Trivia and pass the theology test, but haven’t made a Disciple in years.  They can recite the four spiritual laws but are still not mature leaders who are training other leaders.  They have been in church for years, learning, but producing no disciples, and haven’t even brought a friend to church in recent memory.

Preaching the Word for a pastor is like Driving Fast for a race car driver.  Both are essential and neither is the point.  The point, the goal, for the pastor, as well as every Christian is Make Disciples.  Not merely educated believers, but equipped-for-service believers.

Without a clear view of that mission, the instruction to Preach the Word could result in failure.

It is beautiful when we put aside our pride at being “Preachers of the Word” and pour ourselves into the race that has been set before us:  to equip the members of the Body for their service.  To see them not only become Disciples, but to become Disciple makers.  Some of them even becoming Pastors & Teachers.  Oh, the joy of that winner’s circle.  Paul looked at Timothy and saw the wreath he had won.   He had preached the Word, but in a way that achieved the goal.  He had finished the race.

 

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